Three boys from the kendo club are having a chat in the locker room, about the tournament that was going to take place the next week. Then a fourth one comes in and scolds them for thinking about taking a rest instead of training. They were resting because Tetsu wasn't there. Then they all smell something good (cream stew) cooking nearby.
At the cooking club, Manami and her friends are busy cooking something, and Manami wanted to let somebody taste her cooking. Just then the four boys pop up at the window, just in time. Manami lets them in and they all enjoy her cooking. Manami cheers them up for the upcoming tournament, and one of them says that thanks to such delicious dishes, they will win without fail.
The next day, Hime-chan and Manami are having a rest under a tree when Icchan comes by with some bad news. It seems that there is only one person among the kendo team members, still in good health. The others are sick, and Icchan wonders if they all ate something bad the previous day. Manami is shocked, thinking it was the fault of her cooking, and rushes to the kendo club.
The only remaining boy, Tetsu, is training, when he spots Manami staring at him with tears in her eyes. She apologizes for the previous day, being convinced that it was all her fault. But Tetsu says that they don't know yet the reason why the other members are sick. Icchan and Hime-chan are spying on Manami, and now understand how she feels. Anyway Tetsu says he'd better give up on the upcoming tournament, because he was all alone.
Then Hime-chan shows up and scolds him for considering giving up. She says there is plenty of time left until the tournament begins to find four more members, so it shouldn't be difficult. But Icchan says that their other friends are already very busy with their own clubs.
Tetsu goes to ask Daichi, and some other people, but they are all too busy to take part of the kendo tournament. Manami, being very sorry, starts to cry. But with a resolute look, she grabs one of the kendo swords, saying she will do it. Then Hime-chan does the same. But Icchan says their stances are not good, so she grabs a sword and shows them. Tetsu is impressed, and Hime-chan says that it's not very different from the archery club that Icchan is a member of. But there is still one members missing to form a team of five.
Tetsu goes to ask Daichi one more time. Then Manami, Hime-chan, and Icchan come to show Tetsu their kendo outfits. Hime-chan says hers fits her very well, but Manami's is too loose (too large for her). So Hime-chan and Icchan tease her, laughing, saying they can see her breasts. Daichi is really surprised to hear that they have all joined the kendo club.
Then Tetsu starts to train them, but they don't pay much attention to what he says. Moreover Hime-chan and Icchan have to leave to go to their respective clubs (theater and archery). There is only Manami left, and she asks Tetsu to teach her with all his might. Tetsu shows her how to hold the wooden sword, with the right hand on top of the handle, and the sword straight up in front of her face. Then she tries to make a move with her sword, but she wasn't holding it firmly enough and sends it flying, where it smashes into the wall.
After school, Hime-chan is back home and Pokota is very surprised to hear that she has joined the kendo club. He then tries to play kendo against the flying pen, using one of Hime-chan's pencils as a sword. But the flying pen is too fast and Pokota slips. He now remembers that Hime-chan has a performance with the theater club coming soon, and wonders if she can manage to train for both at the same time. She says her time schedule is set up very tight, but it's ok. Then the flying pen comes by and hits Pokota on the head, just as if it were the final winning hit in a real kendo match.
[CM break]
After a few days, Daichi (now playing against Tetsu) and the others have become quite good at kendo. Manami says, giggling, that Takada-kun (Tetsu) is very kakko ii.
Then Tetsu hands out the order in which they will fight. He will fight first, then Kamikura (Icchan), Mori (Manami), Daichi, and Hime-chan last. Hime-chan says that it's because she is the one Tetsu expects the most from, but Tetsu says it's only because she has to play with the theater club first and needs more time to get ready.
The day of both Hime-chan's play and the kendo tournament comes.
Hime-chan is in the dressing room, wearing a wig with long dark hair. She just looks like her older sister Aiko, with a red ribbon in her hair though [that way she is even cuter than Aiko herself :) ]. Pokota pops out of her school bag and asks her if she remembers her lines well enough. But all Hime-chan can recite is a strange mix of theater and kendo words. Then somebody calls her as it was her turn to come on stage.
On their way to the gymnasium, Icchan asks Manami if she will be all right. "Of course!" she replies. "It can only be all right! Why are you asking?". But Manami's voice doesn't sound good to Icchan.
On stage, a very good Aiko-look-alike Hime-chan is applauded by everybody. But the kendo match is about to start, so she has no time to go for another "curtain call". She uses her palette and sends Hime-copy on stage instead.
In the gymnasium, the match has just started and Tetsu wins easily. Then it was Icchan's turn. But she only stands still, with her sword raised. So her opponent wins easily. Manami was next. Tetsu cheers her up and she smiles, but she can hardly get up because her legs are paralyzed with fear.
When the referee gives the go signal, Manami yells out, "I can't do it!" [if I can say so, in a typical Japanese-girlish way :) ], and is about to chicken out when her opponent makes a move.
Tetsu shouts, "Don't run away!" so she gathers her wits and attacks with all her might. But her movements are not well coordinated and her opponent is a little puzzled to counter her blows. It also makes the audience laugh, but Tetsu yells at them to shut up. Despite her efforts, Manami loses the match, but is applauded by everybody in the gymnasium.
Time is running, and Hime-chan is still not there. Then Daichi gets up to fight and wins. But he is very worried about Hime-chan.
Meanwhile Hime-chan is on the way to the gymnasium. To speed things up, she makes Pokota and herself smaller and ride on the magical pen. But they get chased by a crow. Trying to get rid of it, Hime-chan crashes into a nearby tree.
In the gymnasium, the referee asks where the last member is. Since Hime-chan isn't there, he gives her 5 more minutes to arrive. The 5 minutes pass, and Hime-chan still didn't arrive. So the referee is about to put an end to the match and say that the other team is the winner. Then Hime-chan appears at the entrance door, out of breath.
As soon as Hime-chan got ready, she fights against her opponent and does very well. But she slips on the floor and her opponent quickly hits her on the head. Hime-chan loses, and the other team wins by a score of 3 to 2.
On the way back to school, Tetsu thanks them all for their participation. Manami is sad because they did not win when the regular kendo members would have won. But Tetsu says that winning isn't the main thing. They have played with all their heart, and that's the most important thing. It's the same with the other team members who fell ill because they ate something bad. No matter what happened to them, they enjoyed what they ate, in their hearts.
Then a member of the cooking club comes and calls for Manami. Manami isn't in the mood for cooking any more, but her friend says that they found out that it wasn't Manami's cooking that had caused the kendo team to get sick. That makes Manami smile.
In the Land of Magic, Erika says that she has a good presentiment about Manami and Tetsu.
At the cooking club, Manami is slicing a cucumber, and smiling.
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Questa pagina è stata progettata da Daichi
Ultimo aggiornamento: 01-01-1997